Carry-On (2024) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

Carry-On is an excellent airport-based thriller that's available to watch on Netflix. Taron Egerton plays a brilliant lead as stuck-in-a-rut LAX junior security team member, Ethan Kopek, who after just finding out that his girlfriend, Nora Parisi (Sofia Carson), who also works at the airport as a Customer Service Manager, is pregnant, decides he's finally going to ask for that promotion from his hard-nosed boss, Phil Sarkowski (Dean Joseph Norris). However, soon after he starts his shift at one of the carry-on baggage check X-Ray machine posts, his day takes a frightening turn.

A random passenger in the queue says she's found a single earbud and just as he is about to place in the nearby lost property drawer, his mobile starts receiving texts from an unknown number. It starts by telling him to place the bud in his ear or his girlfriend with be in danger. He complies and then a calm male voice starts giving him verbal instructions. He is to allow a specific black wheely case with a red ribbon through the system without further scrutiny and that passenger to freely clear through his check point. "What the hell is in that case?"

Now, the main kicker here is that the voice over the earbuds comes from Jason Bateman, who from my memory, rarely plays a baddie, but does it well here as the no-name antagonist. He's convincingly chilling when giving Kopek multiple warnings for unsuccessfully trying to notify his team as to what's going on. An accomplice in a conveniently positioned van in the airport carpark opposite the terminal building is his 'eyes' as they've hacked into the airport's CCTV. They also seem to know what is going on at L.A. Police H.Q. quite easily too, so seem to have all bases covered.

The run time of 2 hours flies by as the tension cranks up deliciously. Seemingly completely trapped in this impossible situation, Kopek has to draw upon every ounce of his wit to try and get out of it, as well as saving his girlfriend. There's a sterlingly good supporting performance from Danielle Deadwyler as L.A. Detective Elena Cole, slowly piecing together what's going down from random incidents cropping up over the city, but mostly the supporting cast were actors I'd not seen before. No doubt with this tense thriller set on Christmas Eve there will definitely be some serious Die Hard comparisons, but I felt that it stands out well enough and is a gripping watch!

The Great Flood (2025)

This is on Netflix now and as previewed in Coming Soon on our Projector Room Podcast, I was looking forward to this Korean disaster movie centred around a, yes, flood. The trailer looked good and I was up for it. However, all is not as it seems and this turns out not to simply be a straight-forward disaster movie in which a meteor hits Antarctica, melts all the snow, send loads of water north, which it does, but something much more and different - and I'm afraid, confusing!

I'm sure that as I get older I get thicker (no wonder my old dad gets confused with these stories) but once again I had to turn to YouTube to get some spotty oik to tell me what the feck was going on in this film! And once I'd digested that, yes, it kinda made sense. But it's still very confusing!

The flood is about to bring the end of humanity but some stuff had happened 5+ years before which tried to ensure that if this happened, humanity could bounce back. I won't say any more as anything would be spoiler stuff I think.

The special effects I thought were very good - the water (mostly) convincing and often scary. Underwater scenes were shot well as survival instinct kicked in for our characters, who you do start to care about and provide many thrilling moments. The actors involved generally did a good job and it was quite well produced and directed. But... well... the confusing bits in the story are presented, well, confusingly... and although the smart people around me here will no doubt get it first time, I needed help, as I say. Why not give it a go and see what you think. It's just under 2 hours long.

Osiris (2025) - A Guest Mini-Review by Adrian Brain

The big draw for this recent sci-fi actioner is Linda “Terminator” Hamilton, but sadly her on-screen time is less than ten minutes. What’s worse, she didn’t “phone-in” the performance as much as send in a fax of Sarah Connor with the note “I’ll add a silly Russian accent in the overdub”.  Oh well,  I expect she has bills to pay too.

The actual lead to the film is called, I kid you not, Max Martini! The square-jawed action hero’s square-jaw. He plays the commander of a special forces unit that is abducted mid-mission into the bowels of an alien spaceship. After the usual probing by the rubbery-looking aliens, they are sealed up in jelly (complete with their arsenal of weapons, most conveniently). They are museum exhibits, presenting the best warriors Earth has to offer. However, the jelly melts and our heroes are free to try to prevent the aliens from eating the population of Earth. So a high-stakes mission then.

If you watch the trailer you’ve essentially seen the film; lots of running around alien spaceship corridors which look remarkably samey (I guess Linda Hamilton ate most of the budget) and the expected death-by-numbers. Sadly, key points, such as the final battle between uber-Alien and Earth’s squarest jaw, are fluffed badly.

However, I did enjoy this despite it being rubbish! Max Martini, often shaken but not stirred, carries the film with a certain bravado and it is always good to see Linda Hamilton with a big gun, no matter how briefly! Currently streaming on various platforms in the UK.

Die Alone (2024)

This 90-minute thriller is a kind of twist on the whole Zombie genre which has benefited from some intelligent writing, storytelling and plot development. Far from the usual often-comic approach to the walking, living dead director/writer Lowell Dean has given us something a bit smarter, more of a puzzle, which the viewer needs to unpick.

Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix, Jessica Jones, Humans) plays the lead and is, as always, convincing in her role. She is supported by Douglas Smith (The Alienist, Clarice), similarly competent as a lost soul searching for his girlfriend in amongst a new world where for humans who are not careful, Mother Nature is taking them back. All sorts of messages going on of course about what our species is doing to the planet and how we'd better watch out if we don't mend our ways.

Some of the make-up has been created interestingly for the humans who have been reclaimed, as various bits of greenery are growing out of various bits of their body, nature keeping them alive-to-thrive. Smith's character has got an extra problem to deal with, apart from avoiding being nabbed, in that he has amnesia. This pops up throughout as we're served up clues as to what the past has been for him and what he can remember about his girlfriend and where she might be.

He quickly gets trusted and invited into Carrie-Anne Moss' character's home as she sees an opportunity to have a physically healthy man around the place to help with the harder work, including taking a turn on the exercise bike which charges the batteries, assisting the solar panels, to bring her purposefully booby-trapped home some electricity. So they get along nicely until having to deal with passers-by and run the risks involved regarding who to trust and who to not. Throughout this, we're flashing back to what he (Ethan) remembers from time to time about his girlfriend and what happened to her, but he also really can't piece much of it together beyond the fact that they were in a car crash.

Carrie-Anne Moss is super in the lead and all those popping in for a quick turn do a great job including Frank Grillo (The Grey, Tulsa King, Kingdom), Kimberly-Sue Murray and Jonathan Cherry. They all contribute well to this post-apocalypse kind-of-survival story as the thrills and surprises roll. I really liked The Last of Us (2023) and this certainly had some nods to the atmosphere of that, though less of the scare moments - as much of this is more laid back - no jump-scares to contend with, which gets my vote!

It's nicely produced with some interesting photography, particularly with some of the interior sets, and yes, there is some body-horror gore here and there - but certainly nothing to hide behind the sofa from! As I said earlier, more to admire from the physical effects rather than blatant CGI. I do think that it's well worth a watch but don't read too much about it or watch give-away trailers. Go in blind and enjoy the ride. It's on a number of streaming services in the UK as I write.

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) - A Guest Review by Chad Dixon

This is the third in what Director James Cameron says will be five feature films set in the mid 22nd Century on the alien moon of Pandora. This outing follows on directly from the dramatic events of Avatar: The Way of Water, which was released in 2022 and again concentrates on the Na'vi family of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) along with their three free-spirited children and adopted human son, Spider.

Still dealing with profound grief after the death of their eldest son Neteyam, their ongoing relationship with Spider (Jack Champion) is getting quite strained, especially as Neytiri feels that as he is the biological son of (hard to kill) Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), he is the reason that the human forces are relentless in going after all of them and generally trying to destroy the Na'vi way of life in their greedy plans to get hold of the rare natural mineral resources on Pandora.

Against the wishes of their children, they decide to take Spider back to the friendly human scientist's base for everyone's future safety. As a compromise, the entire family hitch a ride with a balloon-travelling trader-tribe for the journey but en route, encounter a new, aggressive Na'vi tribe, the Ash People, led by their fierce female chieftain, Varang (Oona Chaplin). During the dramatic air battle, their balloon crashes in the jungle and as they try to escape on foot, Jake's metal automatic rifle falls into the hands of Verang who immediately feels it's a weapon that her and tribe must get a lot more of.

At 3 hours and 17 minutes, this film would definitely be considered on the long side but the story keeps moving at a nice pace so I certainly didn't feel bored. Empathy was flowing in all the right places as the script was much more engaging than the last film's. I'm not sure if motion capture technology used has improved since 2022 but I think that the expressiveness of the all the Na'vi faces are much more emotion-filled this time.

That point is illustrated best by Chaplin, who steals every scene that her character is in, with the most expressive performances - and with the unexpected relationship she develops with Lang, now permanently transposed into a Na'vi avatar body himself, the intensity is ramped up to eleven! His motivation involves ever more maverick attempts to try to capture the "traitor", Jake, and re-engage with his estranged son, Spider. I also have to mention the stunning topographical visuals of the multiple locations we are taken to, with all their amazing alien flora and fauna, which again are a critical part of the landscape of this franchise.

Of course, the ongoing war between the human colonists and the indigenous Na'vi is what this franchise is mostly known for and although they feel a bit relentless after, now, three films, the choreography of these particular battles have escalated to a believable level and happily, took up just about the right amount of screen time. The character development of the core family and their other Na'vi friends was what mostly I'll remember this time as it reminded me much more of the experience I felt after seeing the first film in 2009. I'll point out now that unlike that time, I didn't go to see the 3D version, which is widely available - but it was still very entertaining and much better than I was expecting!

The Long Walk (2025)

This is now starting to creep into streaming services now in the UK and I thought I'd give it a go. I haven't read Stephen King's book but it seems that from those who have, this film adaptation meanders someway off the writing and many are not pleased.

The backdrop is a USA now under a military regime - a repressive police state, where the government exerts strict control. Civil liberties are severely curtailed. People can be executed for expressing outspoken political opinions against the government and the country is suffering from a severe economic depression. The Long Walk contest organised by the government is a way to inspire patriotism and a strong work ethic in the public.

One hundred teenage boys are selected via a lottery to compete. They must walk continuously along a pre-arranged route. They must maintain a pace over 3mph. If anyone drops below the speed for a specified time, they receive a verbal warning from the armed soldiers escorting them. After three warnings, the next one results in the boy being shot dead. The single boy who lasts the longest wins a large cash prize and the fulfillment of any one wish he desires for the rest of his life. The event is highly publicised and watched by spectators who line the route, turning the state-sponsored murder into a major source of entertainment and betting. This is one of the aspects apparently in the book and not the film, which is almost all set along country roads away from spectators.

King began writing it in the late 1960s, and it was widely considered an allegory for the Vietnam War and the military draft - reflecting anxieties about young men being arbitrarily chosen and sent off to a brutal, often fatal, experience by an unquestionable authority.

So yes, that's about it really. During the walk we get to know the characters and the reasons why they have volunteered to be a part of this - often not just about money. There are one or two flashbacks but the cameras stay mainly with the walkers and a huge part of the film is dialogue driven - interspersed with brutal killings of, yes, you guessed it, 99 of the young men. Much of it is about regret and loss, opportunity and revenge but mostly friendship and the meaning of that - so entrenched, that at times it starts to feel a little like a soap opera!

But it's not - it's more like a thriller in a sense, except that we pretty much know what is going to happen - because it has to. That's the point. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are engaging in the main two leads, surrounded by quirky characters, often annoying, sometimes sweet and moreover experiencing changes of priorities and life/death outlook as they face their end against the 100:1 odds. The pace is pushed along by the pace of the walking and it never feels, unlike the walkers, tired or laboured.

The photography and direction (Francis Lawrence) are well thought through as we have various interesting well-shot close-ups of the killings and out of focus long-shots too - as we trundle along the road with the guys. It's an odd film really. I guess one can look deeply into it, given the above regarding who wrote it, when it was written and what the drive for the story was - but it can also be taken at face value of some futuristic game-to-the-death like Squid Game or the like. Quite entertaining, therefore - and thought-provoking for those who wish to muse.

The Dam (2025)

This Ukrainian horror/thriller/zombie film comes across as pure anti-Russia, anti-Soviet propaganda! At every turn, opportunity is taken to poke, prod and belittle the country, this shot during the continuing latter's occupation of the former. I'll leave debate regarding that situation for other commentators. Apparently this film was made for only half a million dollars, quickly, in the war zone - so kudos for that.

Cold-hearted and stoney faced Mara, Maryna Koshkina (Oxana, The Forgotten), leads a crack Ukrainian military team into underground spaces which have been uncovered as a result of Russian forces blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam (apparently a true event from 2023).

There, in secret Soviet bunkers under the dam, she is trying to find her long-lost brother. Made tricky (as we head into fantasy, not fact) by the place being full of zombies, created by Russian projects to create physically super-human and psychically capable soldiers - male and female!

The idea being that the super strong males can crush enemies like a Godzilla and the females can 'think' dreadful things to happen to them with it coming true! We do see much of this all happening later in the film as it goes into bonkers territory! Given that small budget, the zombie creatures actually look pretty good and well-imagined. I wouldn't say particularly scary, but quite well-done - as our crack team discover that a bullet through the head kills them once and for all. Trouble is that there are more of them than they have bullets for, so cunning strategy is needed too!

In the middle of this they find a nerdy and somewhat comic Russian scientist who has been responsible for the experiments, so they give him a hard time (as you'd imagine) but keep him alive as hostage to be their guide through the maze of bunker corridors and levels. He takes the opportunity, whilst not gagged, to explain what he was up to and how great Russia is/was and how what they have been doing is right and justified. The team soon get fed up with that!

It all sounds a bit bonkers - and to large degree it is - macho-men with huge guns, zombies being taken out left, right and centre (and later on 'exploded' by thought, which is fun) and all set to in-your-face rock music! But actually, I really quite enjoyed it. You'd have to be in the right mood of course, few beers, but the 1 hour and 40 minutes flew by as director Alexey Taranenko keeps viewers on their toes, edge of the seat, wondering what on earth is likely to be around the next corner!

Built to a budget, so don't expect spankingly good special effects, but what they have done here with the money and under difficult circumstances is really very impressive. The pacing of the action is good, the script is alright, the storyline bozo (of course) and actors (none of whom I know) seem to certainly do a decent-enough job. All good fun, but yes, there certainly is a hard-line message behind it which it pulls no punches in putting out there.